Plastic fence

ABSTRACT

An all plastic fence composed of hollow posts and rails externally textured to simulate wood. The posts are formed with anchor formations at the bottom and vertically spaced holes for reception of snap lock formations at the ends of the rails.

United States Patent Blease [451 Oct. 24, 1972 [541 PLASTIC FENCE [72]Inventor: Wilfred J. Blease, Greenville, NH.

[73] Assignee: Pioneer Plastics, Inc., Greenville,

[22] Filed: Feb. 12, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 114,784

[52] U.S. Cl ..256/l9, 256/59 [51} Int. Cl. ..E04h 17/16 [58} Field ofSearch ..256/19, 59, 21. 22, 65-70 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATESPATENTS 133,853 12/1872 Hall ..256/59 348,383 8/1886 Cummings ..256/59 X861,924 7/1907 Weatherly ..256/59 666,947 1/1901 Ward ..256/65 1,070,1658/1913 Newlin ..256/65 UX 2,628,823 2/1953 Rhome et a1 ..256/19 X2,833,522 5/1958 Michaeis ..256/65 2,919,113 12/1959 Cofield ..256/65FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 430,155 8/1967 Switzerland .256/ 65489,579 1/1953 Canada........................256/22 734,057 7/1955 GreatBritain ..256/65 1,684,883 11/1969 Germany ..256/l9 PrimaryExaminer-Dennis L. Taylor Anorney-Za1kind, Home & Shuster 57 1 ABSTRACTAn all plastic fence composed of hollow posts and rails externallytextured to simuiate wood. The posts are formed with anchor formationsat the bottom and vertically spaced holes for reception of snap lockformations at the ends of the rails.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FATENTEDUBT 24 1912 INVENTOR WI LFRED J.BLEASE ATTORNEYS PLASTIC FENCE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to the construction and assembly of fences and moreparticularly to fences made of plastic material.

The posts and rails that make up a fence are generally made of wood ormetal. Wood fences require constant attention because of rot andtermites. Some form of preservative treatment is accordingly required.Metal fences, on the other hand, are subject to rust or other forms ofchemical deterioration and must therefore be surface treated with paintor other coatings. The assembly and installation of fences isfurthermore difficult or costly.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to providean easily assembled fence that is rot proof, rust proof, termite proof,color fast and requires no paint, surface treatment or preservative.

In accordance with the present invention, a fence is assembled fromhollow posts and rails made from a molded plastic material. The postsare provided with below surface anchor foot portions and vertical seriesof above surface openings angularly spaced from each other. The openingsin the posts receive locking formations at the ends of the rails. Theexternal surfaces of the posts and rails may be textured to simulatewood or provide any desired decorative effect. Further, the plasticmaterial may be any desired color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEW OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a verticalsection through a portion of an assembled and installed fenceconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the fence portion shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a typical fence post made inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a typical fence rail.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a portion of a fence constructed inaccordance with the present invention showing a corner post.

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings indetail, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a portion of an assembled fencegenerally referred to by reference numeral 10. The fence consists ofposts including interior posts 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and cornerposts 14 as shown in FIG. 5. Except for the placement of holes therein,the posts 12 and 14 are identical in construction. Also, the fence rails16 are all alike except possibly for variations in length.

Both the posts and the rails are made of a linear polyethylene or othersuitable plastic material using a blow molding process. Except for theend portions, the posts and rails are hollow or tubular so as to utilizea minimum amount of material thereby reducing the weight and cost of thefence consistent with the desired degree of rigidity. Further, by makingthe posts hollow, simple but effective snap-in connections may bereadily established between the posts and the rails without reliance onany fasteners because of the elastic flexibility of the post walls.

Each of the posts includes an above surface tubular portion 18 closed atthe upper end by an end wall 20. A circular beveled edge 22interconnects the end wall with the tubular portion. The tubular portionand the end wall may be externally textured as aforementioned. A hollow,anchor 'foot formation 24 is connected by a shank 26 to the closedbottom 28 of the tubular portion. Thus, the shank 26 and anchor 24 maybe embedded in the soil 30 below ground level 32 as shown in FIG. 1,with the shoulder 34 between the bottom 28 and the shank abutting theground.

Each of the posts is provided with two vertical series of openings 36 asmore clearly seen in FIG. 3. The number of holes in each series may varydepending on the height of the posts and the desired vertical spacingbetween the rails connected to the posts by snap-in formations 38received through the openings 36. The two series of openings are spacedapart for interior posts 12 as shown in FIG. 2 or angularly spaced apartby less than I8Gfor corner posts 14 as shown in FIG. 5

The openings 36 are smaller in diameter than the maximum diameter of theconverging heads 40 associated with each of the snap-in locking orconnector formations 38. Thus, the post is elastically deformed adjacentthe opening 36 as the connector formation 38 is forced in and becomeslocked about the neck 42 connecting the head 40 to the axiallyconverging end walls 44 of the hollow rail at each end, as more clearlyseen in FIG. 1. The diameter of the neck 42 is substantially equal tothe undeforrned diameter of the opening 36.

It will be apparent, that the fence 10 may be readily msembled fromstandard sized posts 12 or 14 and rails 16 with minimum effort andwithout use of tools or fasteners. Further, the resulting fence will notonly be pleasing to the eye because of the variety of colors anddecorative surfaces that may be molded into the plastic material, butwill also require less attention because of its rot, termite andoxidation resistant attributes.

Having thus described a preferred form of my invention, what I claim is:

I. In a fence having a plurality of posts interconnected by rails, eachof said posts and rails being made of an integral flexibly elasticmaterial including an elongated tubular portion closed by axial end wallportions, and an axially converging formation connected to at least oneof the end wall portions, said rails having an enlargement on said atleast one of the end wall portions each of the posts having verticallyspaced deformable openings through which the enlargements on the railsare lockingly received within the tubular portion.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the converging formationassociated with each of the posts is a ground anchor connected by ahollow shank to a lower one of the end wall portions.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the converging formationsassociated with the rails are solid locking heads connected to bothaxial end wall portions of each of the rails by necks substantiallyequal in diameter to said openings in the posts.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein the end wall portions of therails converge axially toward the locking heads.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said elastic material is amoldable plastic.

3 4 6. The combination of claim 5, wherein the tubular portions of therails converge axially toward the locking portions of the posts andrails are externally textured. heads.

The Combination of Claim wherein the g- 9. The combination of claim 1,wherein said elastic ing formations associated with the rails are solidlocking heads connected to both axial end wall portions of each of therails by necks substantially equal in diameter to said openings in theposts.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the end wall material is amoldable plastic.

10. The combination of claim 1, wherein the tubular portions of theposts and rails are externally textured.

LII

1. In a fence having a plurality of posts interconnected by rails, eachof said posts and rails being made of an integral flexibly elasticmaterial including an elongated tubular portion closed by axial end wallportions, and an axially converging formation connected to at least oneof the end wall portions, said rails having an enlargement on said atleast one of the end wall portions each of the posts having verticallyspaced deformable openings through which the enlargements on the railsare lockingly received within the tubular portion.
 2. The combination ofclaim 1, wherein the converging formation associated with each of theposts is a ground anchor connected by a hollow shank to a lower one ofthe end wall portions.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein theconverging formations associated with the rails are solid locking headsconnected to both axial end wall portions of each of the rails by neckssubstantially equal in diameter to said openings in the posts.
 4. Thecombination of claim 3, wherein the end wall portions of the railsconverge axially toward the locking heads.
 5. The combination of claim4, wherein said elastic material is a moldable plastic.
 6. Thecombination of claim 5, wherein the tubular portions of the posts andrails are externally textured.
 7. The combination of claim 1, whereinthe converging formations associated with the rails are solid lockingheads connected to both axial end wall portions of each of the rails bynecks substantially equal in diameter to said openings in the posts. 8.The combination of claim 7, wherein the end wall portions of the railsconverge axially toward the locking heads.
 9. The combination of claim1, wherein said elastic material is a moldable plastic.
 10. Thecombination of claim 1, wherein the tubular portions of the posts andrails are externally textured.